And the Oscar Goes To…

The final curtain has fallen. Kodak Theater lies empty in the aftermath of the grand gala they call the Oscars. The last of the champagne flutes have been put away. Hollywood goes back to their normal “business as usual”. And the city will never be the same again.

As the world goes back to its normal work schedule many watercooler talk will turn to the previous night’s event. The telecast of the 81st Annual Academy Awards was filled with many memorable moments. With first time host, People’s Sexiest Man Alive 2008 Hugh Jackman at the helms, the evening was sure to have dazzling performances. The evening started off with the regular preshow telecast with the red-carpet interviews consisting of, “Who are you wearing?” and,”Congratulations on your nomination.” The Swarovski Crystals-laden stage sparkled as all of Jackman’s musical performances including a can’t-miss medley with Beyonce, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper entertained the audience.

There were many things done quite differently this year. They tried to make the celebrity guest appearances a surprise and it sure worked. The way they presented the acting nominees for best supporting actress/best actress, best supporting actor/best actor was to have 5 previous winners for the category giving glorious reviews of the actors’ body of work and then giving the statue away.

The main winners were: Best Supporting Actress went to Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Best Supporting Actor went to the late Heath Ledger with an emotional acceptance speech from his father, mother, and sister which left no dry eyes in the whole stadium. Best Actress went to 6 time nominee Kate Winslet for The Reader who gave the most humbling tribute to her group of fellow nominees. Best Actor went to a previous Oscar winner Sean Penn for Milk giving I believe was one of the most moving and inspirational speeches of the night, although the whole night was filled with many inspirational speeches. And Best Picture went to Slumdog Millionaire with the Director also winning for Best Director. All in all Millionaire won 8 out of the 10 awards it was nominated for. Milk and The Dark Knight both won 2 awards a piece. And The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won 3.

One semi awkward scene happened when Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie were literally within feet of each other as Aniston and comedian Jack Black gave two awards away. Jolie looked up with a smile at the charm of her fellow Kung Fu Panda star Jack Black. There were quite a few touching moments as actors that have been in films together gave each other a sort of good luck “wink”. Anthony Hopkins was in Meet Joe Black with Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway was in The Devil Wears Prada with the great Meryl Streep.

There were quite a few noticeably absent regulars at the show though. Hillary Swank, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Denzel Washington, Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Garner, Demi Moore, and Bruce Willis were a few that were not at this years Oscars. And I was a bit surprised to see that Charleton Heston passed away this year.

At the end of the nearly 3 and a half hour Oscars telecast, they showcased a few movies coming out in 2009 that we might be seeing at next years Oscars. The list was very exciting and I can’t wait for next years Oscars.